NEW YORK (AP) — Sometime in the next few days or even hours, the “miners” who chisel bitcoins out of complex mathematics are going to take a 50% pay cut — effectively slicing new production of the world’s largest cryptocurrency in half.
That could have a lot of implications, from the price of the asset to the bitcoin miners themselves. And, as with everything in the volatile cryptoverse, the future is hard to predict.
Here’s what you need to know.
Bitcoin “halving,” a preprogrammed event that occurs roughly every four years, impacts the production of bitcoin. Miners use farms of noisy, specialized computers to solve convoluted math puzzles; and when they complete one, they get a fixed number of bitcoins as a reward.
Halving does exactly what it sounds like — it cuts that fixed income in half. And when the mining reward falls, so does the number of new bitcoins entering the market. That means the supply of coins available to satisfy demand grows more slowly.
Jimmy Carr sparks speculation he may have become a father for the second time
Company Law draft revision to bolster confidence
China's talent pool goes for glory
Beijing 2022 innovates green standard for snow venues
Rock trailblazer Heart reunites for a world tour and a new song
Xi Arrives in South Africa for 15th BRICS Summit, State Visit
Xi Calls on China, S. Africa to Strengthen Four Partnerships in Golden Era
China's goal of engaging 300 million people in winter sports achieved: survey
The iconic fantasy film that catapulted a 17
Company Law draft revision to bolster confidence